President Trump signs an executive order Monday. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

(Newser)
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President Trump made good on a campaign promise Monday when he pulled the US out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a sweeping 12-nation deal that was a key part of President Obama's aim to increase ties with Asia while keeping China in check. So now what?

China wasn't part of the pact, and the US withdrawal gives Beijing an opening to play a bigger trade role in the region and the world, reports Bloomberg. It is pushing an alternative pact.

A Wall Street Journal story, however, raises doubts about Beijing's ability to fill the shoes of the US, despite President Xi Jinping's seeming embrace of free trade last week in Davos.

Bernie Sanders loves Trump's move (trade deals "have cost us millions of decent-paying jobs"), while John McCain hates it (in part because of the opportunity he sees for China). Details at Business Insider.

Trump's move, while expected, could mark the beginning of a fundamental shift in the global economy, reports the Washington Post. It means that all US economic alliances are up for reassessment, says a Cornell prof.

Trump is betting he can negotiate better terms for the US with partners than previous presidents, explains CNN.

As for TPP, Australia and New Zealand say they hope to keep it alive despite the US withdrawal. Think "TPP 12 Minus One," reports the BBC.

USA Today has the nuts and bolts of the trade pact (including the important fact that it hadn't been ratified by the Senate yet).

"Hey China, we are tired of being the leader in global trade and were wondering if you'd like to take over as the boss of global trade pacts. This should work out just fine for us." - signed, The Biggest Idiot in the World.

johnthropic

Jan 25, 2017 3:30 AM CST

The ttp was never going to pass anyway. The only positive Obama said was that "If we don't fill the void, China will"

tran_tor

Jan 24, 2017 10:04 PM CST

If even more US manufacturing moves to Asia because labor is even cheaper than Mexico, how does free trade benefit the Main Street US citizen? TPP and NAFTA benefit the 1% who hold high level positions in US companies that ship jobs overseas. What Globalist consistently fail to mention is that countries like China cheat. They subsidize manufacturing costs to undercut the market. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/usha-haley/how-chinese-subsidies-cha_b_3232213.html They flood markets to crash prices and drive competition out of business https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-05/china-is-flooding-market-with-too-much-steel-lobby-groups-say And they manipulate their currency to artificially make their products cheaper than what they are really worth. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2012/10/china_currency_manipulation_how_does_it_harm_the_u_s_and_what_can_we_do.html